


Phantasm

by Sunvori



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, But None Is Actually Consumed, But None Is Actually Used, CollegeStudent!Wooyoung, Confessions, ConvenienceStoreWorker!San, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Mentions Of Tobacco Products, Mentions of alcohol, No Angst, Pining, Slice of Life, Yunho Yeosang and Seonghwa are briefly mentioned, kind of, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-23 05:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17677694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunvori/pseuds/Sunvori
Summary: San worked at a convenience store, a job that allowed him to daydream about a regular named Wooyoung who would come and buy soju more often than not.





	1. A Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This idea really came out of no where. I just threw a bunch of words together and got.. This. It's really not much, just a basic slice of life AU. It'll probably stay under 10k in word count but I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! (This is mainly only rated Teen because of the Alcohol and Tobacco references, plus the odd swear word here or there. Other then that, it's pretty much General Audience!)

San liked to daydream.

There was something about his minimal effort job at a convenience store that sparked his mind into weaving these fantasies that would never actually play out.

The store he manned was a small one, hidden in the back roads of the college district of the city. So small in fact, that he could walk from the front wall to the back with just six slightly longer than his usual strides, from the left to the right wall in just five. 

Because of how small the place was, there was never a need for more than one person to be working at a time. The only time he saw any of his coworkers was when he would arrive at 6pm to shift change with a tall, friendly boy named Yunho, then at 2am, when a guy San could vaguely remember having a class with back in freshman year of college came in to relieve him. It was after a week that San was finally able to wrestle the name Yeosang out of the boy. 

So, more often than not, San was alone in this small cubical of a convenience store. Of course there were customers that came and went. Mostly just solo college students picking up some food on their way into class, but there were still a few groups of rowdy students that would surround the vending machine that sat on the porch of the store, or come in and throw items to each other over the tops of the shelves. 

But as the type of store would suggest, this place was one for convenience, not for lingering. They did have a small corner where customers were able to prep a bowl of ramen, but the only seating the store provided was a small table with two chairs outside on the front porch, sitting on the opposite side of the front door that the vending machine occupied. 

So with the faces that blurred together as they came and went over his eight hour work day, San’s mind had grown to imagine past the reality of the situation.

He would imagine slamming the cash register closed in an act of defiance as a particularly rude customer turned to leave. 

He would imagine himself plugging his phone into the speakers of the store and playing his music at _just_ above the acceptable level expected of the store to see if anyone would notice. 

And sometimes, he would imagine slipping an extra sweet into the cute boy's check out bag, who appeared at the store so often that San had even given him a nickname. 

In his daydream, the boy would come up to the counter with a smile on his face and San would smile back. He would ring up everything the boy had, and while the boy was busy with his wallet, San would slip one of his favorite candies into the bag along with his other purchases.

Sometimes, the boy would come back and fuss over how he wasn’t sure how it had got into his bag, apologizing about taking it. But then San would reassure him that no, it wasn’t a mistake and was actually a gift from him.

In other daydreams he would imagine that the boy would come back and not say anything, but then San would slip in another and then another the next time he came. Then, the two would would share private smiles to each other, both knowing the other knew of their unspoken secret.

Daeho, as San had dubbed him, would always arrive around 10pm, the dead center of his shift. Daeho was probably just as familiar to the store as San was at this point. 

At first, when San had just started to notice his recurring appearances, it was the start of the school semester and Daeho would meander his way around the store, taking in everything it had to offer. 

And as San watched him, the boy would continue to scan the shelves, as if the week before of doing so hadn’t familiarized him with their product selection enough yet.

And if San was to be completely honest, it was the boy's beauty that had first caught his attention. But it was the boy's behavior that had caught his curiosity. As Daeho would pick up a gummi candy bag to look at the flavors that brand provided, San started to wonder what it was that Daeho had been doing before arriving to the store. 

Had he just finished his classes for the day and his route back home trailed him to pass this store? San assumed he was a student, since he had arrived with the new school year. 

As Daeho would turn the bottles to see their labels better, San would wonder as to why he acted like he had all the time in the world to memorize a convenience store layout. Maybe it was just who he was as a person? Someone who took stopping to smell the roses as a life plan. Or maybe he lived alone, and going back to his empty apartment was more boring to him then this.

But there was one thing that Daeho always ended up buying that really sparked his curiosity. There hadn’t been a visit that he had left without it. Sometimes, near the beginning, he would sprinkle in other purchases, maybe as a ploy to evade the true meaning of his visit. But as their mutual recognition grew, Daeho had cut out the pleasantries and excess spending.

It was the thunk of a soju bottle against the counter every time he came to check out that really got San wondering. 

Daeho had yet to leave the store without at least one bottle of soju since he started to arrive to San’s store. 

But don’t get him wrong. He, too, had a decent amount of alcohol consumption under his belt, his days off always ending with a beer or two for himself. 

So no, it wasn’t any sort of judgment that San was harboring towards Daeho that made him wonder. It was more the fact that Daeho didn’t play the part of a boy who bought soju on a daily basis. 

Daeho looked like an athlete. Daeho looked like he could wake up for a 7am class without batting an eye. Daeho looked like the kind of guy that might reprimand you for ordering a third bottle at dinner, a gentle reminder not to go overboard passing his lips easily. 

San, if he was being introspective, would say that out of the two if them _he_ looked like the one who would be purchasing a bottle or two of soju on a daily basis. 

But of course, San didn’t know if it actually was a daily thing. He only worked four days of the week, so maybe his and Daeho’s schedules just meshed perfectly to create this ruse that he did purchase soju on the daily. 

At this time, San was getting swept away by a particularly enticing daydream, one that consisted of San coming in on a day he didn’t work. He would arrive at around 10pm for no particular reason other then he never was doing much at that time anyways, the excuse of introducing himself to his other mysterious coworkers on his mind when he would coincidentally run into Daeho.

The familiar sound of a soju bottle thunking against the counter brought him back to the present.

Daeho looked particularly done up today. There was a hint of black smudged at the corner of his eyes, something San took immediate notice of. Daeho almost always had a small amount of natural make up on, but the night out look was new. It was a Friday, maybe he had plans for the night and had stopped in to stock up for the weekend? 

San went to ringing up his item, trying harder then usual to keep his eyes on the register screen. Daeho was a little too good looking for his own good. It was when San was wondering if Daeho got pestered a lot when he went out, that he was brought back to attention with the most polite throat clearing San had ever heard. 

“What’s your name?” asked Daeho as he chewed on his bottom lip. 

“My name?” asked back San, thrown by the personal question. It wasn’t that conversation was a rarity between the two, it was just that they usually kept the topics of the exchanged words at a surface level. A ‘The weather is great today.’ from Daeho or a ‘Did you find everything okay?’ from San.

“Yeah, I just— I thought that since I— We’ve seen each other a lot and I thought ‘hey maybe I should know his name,’” rambled Daeho and San couldn’t help but take note that rambling was something he hadn’t originally expected from him. If there was one theme with Daeho though, it was that he never was quite what San expected from him. 

“I’m San.”

“Oh, that’s a nice name. I’ve always liked short names.” Daeho’s voice was soft, but had a sturdy quality back to it after his initial blunder. 

“How about you? Is yours short too?” asked San, because he wasn’t about to not get a name in return. Did it start with a D like how San had imagined? Or maybe it was something obscure, maybe even a name San hadn’t ever heard of before.

“Oh no, I don’t mean to disappoint, but it’s Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung. It was neither short nor an obscure name. But it fit him so perfectly, so much more than Daeho. Even if San had initially thought that Wooyoung looked like a boy with a D name, it was nothing to the reality of knowing what it actually was.

And by no means did he disappoint. If anything, San was ready for any new information from Wooyoung to defy any preset thoughts he had about him. It was like reaching into a bowl of mixed candy to then pull out his favorite kind, not even knowing that it had been in there in the first place.

“It’s nice to formally meet you, Wooyoung,” said San, a smile he couldn’t help on his lips.

“Likewise,” replied Wooyoung, who was handing over his card. San took it instinctually, having forgotten that they weren’t talking just to talk. San turned back to autopilot, putting the bottle of soju into a small plastic bag before handing it over the counter.

“I hope you have a nice night, Wooyoung.”

“You too, San.”

Wooyoung left with the sound of the door sliding closed after him and San was left with four hours to replay how his name sounded in Wooyoung’s voice, a beautiful smile gracing his features as he had said it.


	2. Is A Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on to part 2! Enjoy!

San hummed to himself as he carried a box from the back into the main store front. It was lightweight, so San practically bounced it between his hands as he started to dance a bit to the song stuck in his head.

When he made it to the chip shelf, San crouched down and started to restock the bottom first. It was a menial task, his hands moving without much thought. It was times like these that his mind really started to wonder.

He could see it now, his hand accidentally dropping a bag. Before he would have the chance to pick it up, Wooyoung would swoop in to grab it off the floor, a wide smile and a sweet greeting spoken at his arrival.

San would joke that Wooyoung was a modern day knight in shining armor. Wooyoung would laugh his sweet laugh and agree because why wouldn’t he? Wooyoung would then comment about how this was actually his favorite flavor of chips. San would poke fun as him, maybe even knock elbows. Then San would offer to buy them for him. 

Wooyoung would be stunned for a few seconds, having not expected such an offer but then a smile would spread, wide and beautiful. Maybe his ears would even turn a bit red, if San was going to be a little self indulgent in his daydream. 

It was a good daydream, one that San couldn’t help but replay a few times in his head, only tweaking a few things here or there. One time San didn’t drop anything. That time he would be reaching out at the same time Wooyoung was, their hands brushing as they grab for the same one. Another time San would joke that Wooyoung never seemed interested in chips before, so why now?

The sound of the front door of the shop sliding open brought him back to reality, as he called a “Good evening!” over his shoulder.

“Good evening,” replied Wooyoung almost directly into his ear, startling San to his feet, accidentally crushing the bag in his hands along the way.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you,” apologized Wooyoung, a hand coming up to lightly touch San’s shoulder. He tilted his head to direct his concerned gaze at San, who was busy trying to unclamp his hands from the poor bag of chips.

Ever since they had exchanged names, conversation came more often between the two. Their greetings were no longer formed from disconnected politeness, now ringing with a tone of genuine friendliness.

And sometimes, Wooyoung would even stop at the front of the store to ask about how San’s day had been before continuing on his way to where the soju was stored.

It was all still so new and San wasn’t prepared for the steps Wooyoung was taking to kindle a friendship between them.

“No, it’s okay,” reassured San, his fingers relaxing with his words. He made a face at the badly misshapen bag. He’s surprised it hadn't popped open.

Wooyoung’s concerned look slowly morphed into a smile and then a small laugh. 

“Don’t laugh at me,” pouted San, shoulders slumping in defeat, accidentally knocking Wooyoung’s hand out of place as he did so.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, you just— jumped!” Wooyoung jumped as well, holding an invisible chip bag to his chest. “It was cute,” said Wooyoung.

“Cute, he says. But does he feel any remorse? No. I see how it is,” grumbled San as he turned to make his way to the register. 

“What are you doing?” asked Wooyoung as he trailed after San.

“I’m just going to pay for the chips, since they’re probably just crumbs now.” He could use a snack about now anyways.

“Let me pay for it,” said Wooyoung as he reached back for his wallet. 

“You won’t want them, they’re probably ruined,” Wooyoung looked like he was about to say something so San interrupted him before he could, “besides, I like this flavor.”

“I’ll buy it for you then, as an apology. It’s my fault they can’t be properly sold anyways.”

San bit his lip as he took the couple of bills from Wooyoung and scanned the chips. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander back to where his thoughts were just a few minutes ago. This almost felt like deja vu.

“Thank you,” said San quietly as he opened the bag. He tilted the bag so he could look inside before fishing around for the only chip still in tact. San reached out his hand, offering it to Wooyoung.

Instead of grabbing it, Wooyoung just opened his mouth. San sniffed and fed him the chip.

Wooyoung hummed as he chewed, cheeks puffing up high on his cheek bones as he did so. 

“It’s the least I can do.”

\---♡---

San stared out into the store, head propped up on the palm of his hand as he leaned his elbow onto the counter top.

It was a Tuesday, which meant it was the slowest day for San. Maybe it had something to do with the placement of the day in the week that made the store so slow. Maybe it was just coincidence that San found himself more bored on Tuesdays than any other day.

San took a deep breath and almost let out a sigh, but caught it just in time. The music that drawled over the store speakers was something classical and mainly piano. It was lovely, in a sort of old fashioned way. 

San’s eyes swept the store before landing on the soju section of the coolers in the back of the store. He blinked at it a few times, and soon enough, he could practically see Wooyoung’s back materialize in front of it. Out of all the places in the store, that was where San had seen him most. 

This time around, San imagined something a little more out of reach with reality. He imagined stepping out from behind the counter to then step up behind Wooyoung. 

Wooyoung would still be scanning the different flavors of soju they had, even though he must have had them memorized by now. San would reach down and take Wooyoung’s hand in his own, turning the boy to him. Wooyoung would send him a slightly puzzled look, but that would soon vanish as San pulled him close before leading him into step, now dancing to the music.

San didn’t know how to waltz and probably never will, but in his daydream he and Wooyoung would step and flow to the music with ease. They would spin around the store and stare into each others eyes and maybe laugh a few times if they bumped into one of the shelves. In his daydream, San suddenly had on a suit, so San decided that Wooyoung would too. 

San was just far enough in his daydream that he almost didn’t notice the movement in the glass doors of the coolers. The reflection came from the front of the store, and San turned to see if a customer was about to walk in.

Instead, he was greeted to the sight of Wooyoung, still outside of the store. It was dark out, as it always was at 10pm, but the store front had a flood light that hung over the top of the patio, it’s light able to reach both the leftmost chair and the right corner of the vending machine. 

San watched as Wooyoung stepped up the few steps, eyes down to his feet. San lifted his hand, about to wave a greeting to the boy, but aborted the motion half way through when he realized that Wooyoung hadn’t noticed him watching him yet. 

San’s eyebrows rose to hide under his fringe when he watched Wooyoung hang a sharp right at the top of the stairs, to then step up in front of the vending machine. 

San chewed on his cheek as Wooyoung fished around for his wallet, before inserting a few bills. He didn’t waste any time perusing his options, instead he clicked the button for his item without much thought.

A tight knot formed in San’s stomach.

After what must have been less than a minute, Wooyoung was done and returning his wallet to his pocket. San quickly fumbled with whatever his could on the counter, trying to look like he had been preoccupied the whole time.

The sound of the front door sliding open warned him before Wooyoung called out a greeting, his voice just as sweet as it had always been. San swallowed down the excess spit in his mouth before calling out his own—albeit a bit shaky—greeting.

Today, Wooyoung made a beeline for the back, heading straight for the soju section. But he still stopped in front of the doors to take in everything the cooler had to offer.

After a few minutes of rearranging the small items that sat on the checkout counter, Wooyoung returned to the front with two bottles in tow. He smiled when he caught San’s eye.

San couldn’t keep it to himself. He had to ask.

“You smoke?” asked San, words almost like vomit. He kept reminding himself that this wasn’t a big deal if it was true. Wooyoung was his own person and San had no right to get upset. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t worry.

“Uh, no, I don’t.” Wooyoung paused to think San’s question over. “but I do have a lighter if you need one.”

“Then why did you buy something out of the cigarette machine up front?” His words felt weird in his mouth, a small voice in the back of his head reminding him that it wasn’t really any of his business.

“Oh. You saw that? My roommate asked for me to pick him up some if there were any here, so I did.” And even now, San couldn’t help but notice that he was wrong once again about Wooyoung. He didn't live alone like he initially thought.

He left out a breath of relief he didn’t know he had been holding in. It was subtle, or at least San thought it was, but Wooyoung was still able to pick up on it.

“Were you worried?” asked Wooyoung, a teasing spark in his words.

“Yeah, of course I was.”

Wooyoung paused, blinked, and turned to look at San. To _really_ look at him. San paused to do the same, his gaze unwavering even as his chest tightened around his heart. It felt like something was passing in between them, a sort of understanding. 

“Hey, do you have kakao? I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Wooyoung as he pulled out his phone. San realized that it was the first time he had actually seen Wooyoung’s phone.

“Yeah, I do. Who doesn’t?” replied San, only just the barest hint of teasing in his tone.

They were quick to exchange user handles and before he knew it, Wooyoung was leaving with a quick wave over his shoulder, the plastic bag holding the bottle of soju swinging from his other hand.

San spent the rest of his shift remembering how the newly added contact looked in his phone. 

He felt his cheeks warm just the slightest bit when he realized that not even in his wildest daydreams had he ever allowed himself the idea of exchanging contact information.

\---♡---

San felt hot. Well, more like he felt cold, really cold, but his body was fevering up a storm.

It was a Friday and he had the next day off work, but of course his body decided to break down on a day he had actual responsibilities.

He had woken up feeling just a bit off, but he went about the day like normal anyways. He figured the change in weather lately could have be responsible.

But by the time he had arrived for his shift, his head felt foggy and his body ached, his skin flushed pink high on his cheek bones. 

Yunho looked politely concerned, and even offered to cover for him, but San could see the slight slouch in his shoulders, the weariness in his eyes. The reluctance behind his offer.

So San declined. It was only one day, only eight hours. It was his eight hours out of the day that he was responsible to man this little shop hidden in the back streets of the city. 

He could do it, even if his vision spun a bit when he turned to bid goodbye to Yunho.

But he hadn’t brought a coat, because he was a fool and had forgotten it this morning, too caught up in his head about what the overall off feeling in his body could mean.

San was slumped down, head hanging on his neck. This had been the position he had taken up when there weren’t any customers around. It was his resting position, where he was able to gather the will power to raise his head high when ever he heard the front door slide open.

And, blessedly, it had been a slow Friday. Maybe school was on break? San wouldn’t know. He dropped out around last year and ever since, hadn’t kept up with the college’s schedule. 

Without really meaning too, San closed his eyes then slumped a little farther down, until he felt the cool surface of the counter against his cheek. It made a shiver run up his spine but it grounded him, made him feel a little more put together, so he stayed. 

San heard the sound of the front door sliding open, but when he cracked his eyes open, the door was shut and there wasn’t anyone in the shop.

He closed his eyes again, because, great. Now he was hearing things. Maybe it was his sick, slightly paranoid brain playing tricks on him. He always took pride in at least looking the professional part when it came to his job. He never took out his phone and he always found something to do around the shop to pass the time. 

So the idea of someone coming in to see him in his current state, slumped a full ninety degrees with his cheek smashed up against the counter was one of the last things he wanted. But, turns out, the actual last thing he wanted was to stand back up, because that made to room spin a bit.

Today would be his first and only exception to his usual, he reasoned with himself.

As the minutes ticked by, San found his mind wandering. He needed a distraction. Anything that took his mind off the fact that his body just felt wrong existing. 

So, instead, he imagined a warm bed. He imagined a cup of freshly brewed tea being sat on the table next to his bed. He imagined a cool hand coming up to feel his forehead before sliding down to cup his cheek. 

And when he opened his eyes, it would be Wooyoung who had brought the tea. It would be Wooyoung sitting on the edge of his bed, turned so he could press his hand to his face, running comforting fingers down his jaw and neck. There would be a smile on Wooyoung’s lips.

The sound of the front door sliding open only slightly registered to San’s sick addled mind, but was quickly forgotten, too caught up in his daydream. 

The press of Wooyoung’s fingers against his cheek felt all too real. San could almost convince himself it was actually happening.

“San? Are you awake?”

San peeled open his eyes and there was Wooyoung. He was pulling his hand back and the touch against his cheek receded with it.

“You look—,” Wooyoung swallowed and the concern in his eyes ran deep, “You look like you could use some sleep.”

“It’s okay,” drawled San as he mustered his strength and stood up straight. He’d dealt and worked through being sick before, why was this time around so hard for him? “I’ve only got—” San turned to look at the clock that hung high above the front door, but the hands of the clock were blurry. “It must be past ten since you’re here. Only four more hours.”

Wooyoung’s eyebrows scrunched. “You work till two in the morning?”

“Yeah,” said San. It had just occurred to him that he’d never mentioned his usual shift length to him.

“Have you taken any medicine?” asked Wooyoung.

San pursed his lips and just shook his head. He hadn’t thought to before leaving this morning.

Wooyoung suddenly turned on his heel. Before San could even wonder as to where he was going, Wooyoung was back with a box of cold medicine in his hands. 

“And you didn’t think to use any of the stuff you had here?” asked Wooyoung with a small laugh in his words. He was pulling out his wallet and then his card.

“Ah, no actually.” because he hadn’t. It just didn’t cross his mind.

Before San could even protest, Wooyoung was ripping open the box. He pulled out the pill package, but then looked around the store again. 

San was too busy to notice as he fumbled with his own wallet. He wasn’t about to let Wooyoung pay for the medicine. 

He looked up when he realized Wooyoung had moved off into the store again, only to see that Wooyoung was busy messing with the ramen prep area. Maybe he was hungry?

San turned his attention to the register. He was having trouble getting the machine to register the barcode on the box, since Wooyoung hadn’t even bothered to open it properly, instead he had just ripped into it.

It was when San was feeling the small sense of accomplishment of getting the order processed and paid for that Wooyoung returned with one of the paper cups they provided at the ramen station. 

But instead of ramen in it, like San had expected, there was just water. Hot water. While San was staring into the bottom of the cup, Wooyoung plopped a tea bag into it.

San looked up to see another box ripped open, this time a box of tea bags.

San opened his mouth to say something. Anything. Maybe to protest. Maybe to say that this was too much. Anything would have been fine, really. But he was interrupted when Wooyoung pushed the cup into San’s hands.

San looked up to Wooyoung, who was smiling. It was a soft, small one. There wasn’t even teeth showing. But it puffed up his cheeks and it looked. Well, it looked heavenly. Even better than any smile San could have imagined.

“Drink that when it cools down a bit. Take the medicine with it,” instructed Wooyoung as he came around the counter. San watched as Wooyoung pulled over an empty crate and sat it up on it’s side.

Wooyoung motioned to it. San swallowed around his dry throat. A lot of emotions swirled in his chest. His eyes stung. 

San sat down on the makeshift chair and blew on his cup of tea. He took a few experimental sips as he watched Wooyoung mess with the register. He almost spoke up, almost stood back up to help him.

But then Wooyoung whooped in triumph, having figured out how to scan the tea box and pay for it. San’s chest glowed with a warmth he hadn’t ever felt before.

Wooyoung turned and asked if San had taken his medicine yet. San shook his head no before fumbling with the small tablet package. Wooyoung’s steady fingers reached out and torn it open for him.

San knocked back the pills and washed it down with the tea. It was only a simple green tea but it helped immensely.

Wooyoung walked over to San’s side and leaned against the wall he was sat up against. San took another sip of his tea. He looked up when he felt eyes on him and met Wooyoung’s stare.

Wooyoung reached down and swept San’s hair to the side before pressing the back of his hand up against his forehead. 

“So warm. You should have called out,” reprimanded Wooyoung in his soft, calming voice.

San hummed in agreement, but it was too late now.

He closed his eyes and rested his head against Wooyoung’s hip. Wooyoung threaded his fingers through San’s hair, over and over. The sweet sound of humming filed the store.


	3. Your Heart Makes

San was in the back room when he heard the front door slide open.

“Good evening!” called San as loud as he could, to make sure the customer was aware that he was around, just out of sight.

He placed his inventory clipboard down as he made his way back out to the main store area. When San pushed open the door, he was greeted to an empty store.

Worry bubbled up in his chest as he chewed on his bottom lip. Did he just imagine someone coming in or did the person take the few seconds of opportunity to snatch something and abscond before San could catch them?

It was when San was contemplating if he would get scolded for messing with the security cameras that he felt hands come up from behind him to cover his eyes.

The only thing San had time to do was jump before soft words were being spoken into his ear.

“Guess who?” said an awfully familiar voice.

A smile rose on his lips, involuntary and wide. San reached up and held onto a hand with one of his own, but hadn't tried to tug it away just yet.

“Hmm, let me think,” hummed San, “Is it Yeosang?”

A tisk could be heard from the person behind him and San couldn't help but laugh a bit at it.

“Do you really think Yeosang would do this?” 

No, San didn't. And from the one time Wooyoung had met him on the night he had stayed until San's shift was over, the night San was almost too sick to stand, Wooyoung probably had the same stance as San did on the Yeosang matter.

“Well, how about,” San chewed on his lip in thought. Should he really say it? “Is it Daeho?”

“Daeho?” asked Wooyoung, his voice holding a few twinges of disbelief in it, “Who is this Daeho guy and should I be concerned?”

San full on laughed at that as he finally pulled the hand away from his eyes. He turned and was greeted to the sight of Wooyoung, the corners of his lips pulled slightly down in the corners.

“I dunno,” drawled San as he schooled his features into something serious. “What's there to be concerned about?”

“Maybe the fact that this Daeho guy seems to be pretty comfortable with you if he's willing to pull a stunt like that.” Wooyoung's fingers squeezed San's, their hands still connected.

San laughed again, finding Wooyoung's concern cute. If he was willing to make such assumptions, he might have said that Wooyoung sounded a bit jealous. But that was a thing the Wooyoung that existed in San's daydreams would be.

“Don't worry,” reassured San, giving Wooyoung's hand a squeeze of his own, “it was just a name I made up.”

“Oh,” The smile that San loved to watch bloom returned to Wooyoung’s face. “Good.”

“What are you doing here so early?” asked San as he returned to the front counter. He spied the clock out of the corner of his eye, it was only half past eight.

“I have a scheduled time I have to arrive at now?” asked Wooyoung with mock outrage.

San held up his hands in surrender. “Hey now, don’t blame me. You’re the one who’s kept to your self imposed arrival time.”

“Well, I missed you, so here I am, early,” boldly proclaimed Wooyoung as he leaned against the checkout counter. 

“What happened to your eight o’clock class?” asked San, eyebrows scrunching a bit in the middle. 

“Cancelled,” said Wooyoung with a shrug. He then leaned a bit more over the counter, a look like he had a secret to tell passing over his features. “Hey, you have tomorrow off, yeah?”

San hummed an affirmative, his back now to Wooyoung as he straightened out the items they had on shelves behind the counter.

“Why don’t we—” San heard his voice catch in his throat, just barely, “You wanna hang out? I mean, if you don’t already have plans.”

San slowly looked over his shoulder. Wooyoung was looking down to the counter, trailing an invisible pattern on the surface with his finger.

“Like, here?” asked San, not quite following.

Wooyoung looked up and laughed lightly. “No, like, maybe you could come to my place. You could meet my roommate. We could play video games or something.”

Oh. 

San blinked as he processed the suggestion. For some reason, the idea of meeting up somewhere that wasn’t the store made knots twist in his stomach. They had been getting closer, the odd text sent here and there, but San hadn’t ever imagined, well, meeting up outside of his work.

It was like the two existed in a bubble when Wooyoung came to the store. One where the idea of Wooyoung wanting to see San as the purpose of his actions didn’t exist. Wooyoung came to the store for soju, and seeing San was just a byproduct of what his main purpose was.

Would Wooyoung even exist outside of the store? He couldn't picture it. Would he wear the same types of clothes? Would his smile still be the same? His laugh?

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that would be fun,” said San, his agreement already passed his lips before his brain could fully register that he said it.

“Great!” cheered Wooyoung, nearly knocking off a small item stand from the counter in his excitement. “I’ll send you my address then. Any time is fine for me, since it’s Saturday and there isn’t any classes. Just send a heads up text when you’re heading over!”

San couldn’t help the smile that started to grow on his lips, until it was squishing his cheeks up into his eyes. Wooyoung’s excitement was contagious and San let a small bubble of laughter escape. 

“Okay,” agreed San with a small but assured nod.

“Okay!” echoed Wooyoung, “I’ll see you then!” called Wooyoung as he nearly tumbled out of the store, tripping over his own feet since he hadn’t bothered to look where he was going, gaze glued to San’s own.

It wasn’t until thirty minutes after Wooyoung had left and the glow of their soon to be plans had worn off just a bit, that San realized that Wooyoung had left without buying his usual soju.

\---♡---

It was late. Not so late that Yeosang was scheduled to relieve him yet, but late enough that San could feel the usual after midnight tiredness pull at his eyelids.

Wooyoung was humming from the back of the store. The store’s music sounded unusually low today, so the sweet sound ricocheted around the empty room.

San took in Wooyoung’s back as he stood in front of the soju cooler. An odd, not quite deja vu overcame him, but he couldn't place as to why. The sight was a regular one, but it still felt like something was missing.

San walked out from behind the counter to step up behind Wooyoung, humming his own version of Wooyoung’s song as he did so. Without really thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around Wooyoung’s waist, because it felt like the right thing to so.

Wooyoung’s humming faltered for a second, but was renewed with a new bouncy tone to it as he reached up with his own hands to clasp over San’s.

San leaned his head up against Wooyoung’s shoulder, nuzzling his cheek into the spot.

“What’s up?” asked Wooyoung, hands holding just a tad bit tighter.

“Why do you buy soju so often?” asked San, his voice only slightly muffled into Wooyoung’s shirt.

A thoughtful noise came from Wooyoung throat.

“I thought this question would be asked sooner or later. I’m surprised it took so long,” mused Wooyoung.

San nodded, rubbing his cheek against Wooyoung’s shoulder as he did so, but stayed quiet.

San could feel Wooyoung's shoulders rise as he took in a deep breath. San waited patiently for the answer.

“Would you like the easy answer, or the real answer?”

San lifted his head at that. Were there different answers depending on which one he picked?

San could nearly feel how tense Wooyoung’s muscles were. “The real answer.”

At San’s words, Wooyoung’s body deflated, all the tension seeping out of him. San went to pull away, concern now ringing in his chest, but Wooyoung’s arms strengthened his hold on him. San clung just a tad bit tighter after that.

“I moved to this city around half a year ago,” started Wooyoung, which wasn’t new information. It was something that had been shared when they had started texting. “and I like being familiar with the area I’m living in. The first week here, I would visit a few places here or there, trying to get familiar with the things that were around.”

San listened intently. This was starting to get into new information territory.

“I hadn’t even planned on coming in here the first day I did,” laughed Wooyoung, as if that was a funny notion. “But Seonghwa, my roommate, remember? He asked me to pick up some soju on the way back home.”

San blinked before laying his head back onto Wooyoung’s shoulder.

“And then—” cut off Wooyoung. San felt another deep breath taken. “I saw someone. Someone who caught my interest. So I returned the day after, telling myself that Seonghwa would appreciate another bottle of soju. But then I came again the day after that, only to see that he wasn’t there that day.”

San felt Wooyoung’s hands squeeze his own, so San flipped his hands, their fingers intertwining easily. Wooyoung’s hands were warm.

“I felt disappointed. Almost like I had missed a chance or an opportunity. So I returned the next day and he was back. It’s embarrassing to admit but, at that point I was hooked. I just kept coming back until I realized what days he worked and then I would only come on those days. But I’m not a big snacker and Seonghwa loves soju, so that became my excuse. Seonghwa sure as hell wasn’t complaining.”

Wooyoung laughed, but it sounded strained. He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands, but San refused to let go as he did so. Not now.

“Wow, that sounds really bad when I say it all like that,” laughed Wooyoung again. He dropped his hands from his face but San held on tight. He decided that he was tired of only seeing the back of Wooyoung, so he lifted an arm over Wooyoung so he could come around to face him, hands nimbly switching to hold the other hand so they there wasn’t a moment without contact. “I only drank, like, three or four of the bottles myself.”

San’s heart clenched up in his chest. He knew who Wooyoung was talking about, knew who it was that he kept coming back to see. Wooyoung was looking down to their intertwined hands, an odd smile on his lips. It was nothing like the sweet smile San had grown to miss on the days he didn’t see it.

“It was me,” breathed San, because he needed it to be out there. Needed the confirmation.

Wooyoung nodded sharply, still not able to lift his eyes to San’s. “It was probably a month after I first saw you that I finally found the courage to ask for your name.”

San remembered that day. Remembered the joy that flipped in his stomach after learning Wooyoung’s name. All the resulting daydreams that he was able to amend with the insertion of Wooyoung’s real name.

“If it makes you feel any better, I called you Daeho in my head before I actually knew your name. That’s pretty weird, right?” said San, because it was started to hurt that Wooyoung wouldn’t look up to him.

“You noticed me?” asked Wooyoung, finally bringing his surprised gaze up to meet San’s assured one.

It was San’s turn to laugh, a short and quick one. “How could I not? It’s not everyday that your cutest customer comes in to buy a bottle of soju daily,” teased San.

“You think I’m cute?” asked Wooyoung, trying to tease San back, but the smear of red on the tips of his ears gave him away.

San nodded as if it was the most obvious thing. “So cute, in fact, that I used to imagine slipping some candy to you as a way to get your attention.”

Wooyoung’s sweet smile was back, wide and beautiful. “Really?”

San sniffed before looking away. It was now his turn to feel embarrassed. “Yeah, really.”

“We’re just a couple of idiots, aren’t we?” sighed Wooyoung, but he was laughing. This time it was the one San had grown to love. The sound made his heart pound, his cheeks warm. He couldn’t help but laugh along, because he was right.

Wooyoung's laughter died down before San’s, but San stopped short when he saw the look Wooyoung was giving him.

It was sharp and pierced straight into San. He involuntarily gulped under it.

“I like you, San,” confessed Wooyoung.

“I like you too, Wooyoung,” returned San, the words slipping out naturally. They almost seemed overdue with how easy it was for him to say them, but it was better late than never.

Wooyoung suddenly tugged on their clasped hands, pulling San in close as he hugged him tight. “Let’s go on dates then! So many dates. I can take you to my favorite restaurant, or we could do something on campus. You used to go there, right?” rambled Wooyoung into San’s ear.

And San smiled and nodded. His chest felt like it was going to burst, his head spinning with just how happy he was. Before he could lose the nerve, before the earlier atmosphere of the confessions could fully disperse, San pulled back just enough so he could cup Wooyoung’s cheek with his hand.

Wooyoung blinked. San loved catching him off guard. He then pressed forward until his lips met Wooyoung’s, pressing a soft but assured kiss to them.

Wooyoung kissed back fervently, knocking San off balance with the sudden reciprocation. They laughed when San found his balance again and pressed one more kiss to Wooyoung’s lips before fully pulling away.

“You have no idea how long I wanted to do that,” said Wooyoung with a sigh. It looked like he had stars in his eyes. 

And San wanted to return the sentiment, but couldn’t. Because even in his wildest daydreams, he never played with the idea of kissing Wooyoung. It seemed like a dream too far out of reach, even for his imagination.

But as it turns out, his reality with Wooyoung turned out so much better than whatever San could’ve ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!! I know it wasn't anything super grand or elaborate but was super fun for me to write, and it helped me get out a bit of a slump that I fell into with writing fics so thank you so much Ateez. :,) I hope everyone enjoyed it! <3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you want, you can find me on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Sunvori)! It's pretty multi fandom and I just mainly retweet shit, but I'm always down to chat!


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